


Written To Know

by GothMoth



Series: Phantom Phang Phucking Phreaking Phantastical Phabulous Phic Phight Phics 2.0 (The 2020 Edition) [10]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny Mutters Too Much For His Own Good, Diary/Journal, Gen, Less Oblivious Maddie, Slightly Manipulative Danny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23604073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothMoth/pseuds/GothMoth
Summary: Maddie isn’t quite as unobservant as she lets on and Danny isn’t quite as unaware of that as he lets her think.
Series: Phantom Phang Phucking Phreaking Phantastical Phabulous Phic Phight Phics 2.0 (The 2020 Edition) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685341
Comments: 22
Kudos: 557
Collections: Phic Phight!





	Written To Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [horseGhost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/horseGhost/gifts).



Maddie had taken to keeping a journal. A journal on what you ask? On Danny. Or more specifically on the things he _said_. Said about _ghosts_. 

She had started it after one too many seemingly offhanded comments from him. 

_‘...well ghosts are protective of their chests...’_ **(Could he be referring to Cores? We’re not sure those even exist yet)**

_‘...ectoplasm is quite limey...’_ **(why would taste be something he’s thinking about?)**

_‘...looks like Skulker rebuilt his suit, lovely...’_ ( **that ghost wears a suit? Not good)**

He obviously _knew_ things about ghosts. Seemingly random facts or tidbits of knowledge. Things that came to his mind so easily and absently that it clearly qualified as ‘common knowledge’ to him. But they were wildly different than the things her and Jack knew. That any ectologist or ghost hunter knew. 

It worried her when she first realised, because just where was he getting this information from and how? But with how utterly random or small some of it was. 

_‘...of course ectoplasm leans towards lower hrtz, feels like a nice massage...’_ **(hopefully that is not from firsthand experience)**

_‘...oof, looks like BoxedLunch is teething...’_ **(ghosts do that?)**

_‘...combining two ecto-DNA's is just not a good idea...’_ **(there goes that experiment)**

She more or less felt she knew the why and how. It was the fault of that strange ecto-contamination of his. All ghosts simply knew, upon creation, facts of what they were. Danny was just contaminated enough for him to have passing access to his ectoplasm, able to pick up the inherent knowledge all ectoplasm carried. 

So she started a journal, collected all the little bits of ghostly knowledge her son had just accidentally gained access to. Some of it was very definitely useless, or just names or places.

_‘DeftedPlains should be ripened by now...’_ **(what does any of this mean?)**

_‘...literally burns sound waves with her hair...’_ **(that rockstar ghost was on the news. Very random information)**

_‘-looks pink under ultraviolet...’_ **(why couldn’t I have heard what he was talking about before this? What looks pink? Kind of ectoplasm maybe?)**

But some was genuinely useful. 

_‘...black kind always burns at a lower temperature...’_ **(Jack couldn’t even get black ectoplasm to burn, just _how cold_ does it need to be?)**

_‘...great, blood blossoms aren’t extinct anymore...’_ **(further research shows these ‘blood blossoms’ are an ancient anti-ghost plant. Anti-ghost plants are a thing!)**

_‘...floating doesn’t take up any energy. So easy and lazy...’_ **(well that explains a lot)**

Though looking over the journal, it explained his ghost tolerance. His ghost friendliness. He understood them in a way that wasn’t through research or with having to struggle to understand/relate. He understood them naturally, with ease and absent comfort. Like a native speaker. And a native speaker would always understand better than a secondary speaker. 

There was plenty of things he’s mentioned that makes very little to no sense to her. Even after sitting on it for a while or trying to subtly get more information out of him. 

_‘...better not be playing with the Moxo’s...’_ **(what is ‘Moxo’? Further research provides nothing)**

_‘...wonder if anyone’s tried the brutalisation stage...’_ **(what?)**

_‘...can’t believe ate a ghost cube once...stupid shrink ray...’_ **(I seriously hope he’s not saying _he_ ate a ‘ghost cube’, and is he talking about the Fenton Cranmer? What’s the relation)**

Sometimes she’s pretty sure she’s caught him smirking. So she’s starting to think he _knows_ she hears the random things he says. It made sense in a way. He was their son and he had always been into the sciences in some way. People liked to share what they knew. And if this was just common knowledge to him, others not knowing or understanding might actually be something of an annoyance. Alright, she’s pretty positive it annoys him. 

_‘...you’ve got to be kidding me, of course that’s not going to work on a heat Cored...’_ **(likely another hint at Cores. The G.I.W. has been using a flamethrower style device on tv, does fire not work on some ghosts in a predictable fashion?)**

_‘...oh Ancients, they **really** think the Realm’s **that** young...’ _ **(does he know how old it actually is? Realm = Zone?)**

_‘...but, what? Why would you even mix purple and red ectoplasm? That’s asking for trouble...’_ **(we’ve never even found red ectoplasm)**

The thing that gets her, is that he probably just _knows_ things that are bad or dangerous for ghosts. Sometimes she does manage to catch him muttering about those things, usually with annoyance.

_‘...trying to bury a corrupted again? Doesn’t he know what that’ll d-’_ **(corrupted? Sick maybe)**

_‘...that kind of syphoning isn’t going to make blood blossom extract. Now if they-’_ **(I’d like to know how to make this. Hinting at this got me glared at and ignore all supper. He is clearly _very_ not okay with using blood blossoms)**

_‘...great, bastard got the Infamap again’_ **(not impressed with the language. Infamap? Map of the Zone maybe?)**

But every time that he’s noticed her presence or listening ears, he’d shut up entirely about it. He knew that information could be bad for ghosts and thus protected the information. 

So that tells her that either his ectoplasm has given him something of a protectiveness over it, or the much more likely option that he simply didn’t want ghosts being hurt for what they were. She’s no fool, she knows Danny doesn’t feel the same about ghosts as her and Jack. It wasn’t even that he just didn’t care or just didn’t hate them. He seemed fond of some, even the whole sometimes. 

_‘...why does every blob have to be so cute?’_ **(I’m not sure how the wide sightless eyes and sharp teeth qualify as cute)**

_‘...looks like those two are a thing again, good’_ **(‘thing’ as in romantically involved?)**

_‘...hope Technus found that babysitter he was after. HayWire is an adorable nightmare...’_ **(was he referencing a ghost _child_???)**

That had worried her but he didn’t seem to be getting into trouble. So it seemed similar to someone who considered bears their favourite animal. They may like or even adore them, but most weren’t going to run up and hug them. Danny knew ghosts were dangerous and he wasn’t stupid. He’d be fine, she just needed to keep an eye on him. It just meant he knew a lot, cared for the knowledge to a degree. 

Looking back to the journal, she had learned a lot from him. Jack, of course, had read over her notes too. So she didn’t want to discourage Danny’s mutterings and off-handed remarks. Which is why she made a point to _not_ use what was written in the journal in her work. In experiments. Because she _knows_ Danny doesn’t like that stuff. To use his knowledge in that way would hurt him. He’d feel betrayed, wouldn’t he?

So it stayed in the journal. Little bits of knowledge. She thinks he knows she is intentionally not using the knowledge for anything. She thinks it makes him smile. That makes it worth it. Means leaving it on paper and not in the lab, was worth it. And sometimes, she thinks he’s trying to warn them about things in return.

_‘...someone’s been fiddling with **Pariah’s Keep** again...’_ **(the ghost that abducted them into the Zone? Not good)**

_‘...FreakShow’s out again, wonder if the G.I.W. are missing anything...’_ **(after checking, a mini bomb was missing. Why would the G.I.W. even have or make something that could fuse part of Zone into our world?)**

_‘...something’s off with ClockWork...’_ **(who is ClockWork? The fact that the sky had flashed green multiple times a week later is concerning)**

That honestly worries her the most now. 

**End.**

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Creator: horseGhost  
> Prompt: Maddie and jack learn a bit more about ghosts, but not through scientific study


End file.
